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Wendigo
Wendigos (also known as windigo, weendigo, windago, waindigo, windiga, witiko, wihtikow, and numerous other variants) are tall humanoid beings, sometimes referred to as halfspirits. Wendigos are formed when a human commits cannibalism in the Canadian forests, theorized to be due to an angry spirit residing there. They are consantly starving, even as they gorge themselves, but can only die from a wound inflicted by silver. They possess superhuman strength. Once it feeds it growsin size a little, thus a Wendigo can never be satisfied. They seem to make their nests in dark, damp places, usually caves and abandoned mineshafts. They sometimes keep their victims alive for days before feeding as they prefer their food to be alive. Wendigos are commonly hailed as some of the most terrifying and powerful monsters alive. Notable Wendigos include Wiktor and John Olar. In the end, the Wendigo is notoriously difficult to destroy, nearly impossible to escape, and will sooner or later devour its chosen victim. Its howl echoes throughout the surrounding area for miles, turning the blood of those who hear the Wendigo’s cry into ice. Not a monster that one could encounter and hope to survive. Physical appearance Wendigos are tall humanoid beings with pale, sometimes white skin. They have long fingers with equally long claws. Their eyes are dark and somewhat sunken. Despite their strength, they are usually bony and thin, instead of muscly, due to the fact that they are constantly starving. Wendigos have hearts made of solid ice. Abilities Wendigos are essentially immortal, and demonstrate high levels of superhuman strength. They can easily survive several rounds of gunfire, and their only known weakness is silver. They seem to be spiritual in nature. Wendigos are associated with ice and snow. Both Wiktor and John used their claws as weapons. Wiktor stabbed the foreheads of his victims with his claws, and also slashed their arms; John used them to gore out peoples eyes and remove the skin from their faces. He also removed peoples hearts. The Wendigo is a purely anthropophagous beast, hungering for human flesh. It will go to any lengths to procure this food, no matter the risk or possibility of injury. The Wendigo craves human flesh and is constantly starving for it (indicated by the beast’s lean, wiry frame). The Wendigo is known to have its preferences: the sweet fat of children, the soft skin of women, the course muscles of men (especially warriors and hunters), or the brittle bones of the elderly. In preparation for long winters (when few travelers are out and about), the Wendigo will stash away large pots filled to the rim with human remains in the highest tree branches. On rare occasions, it will take humans alive and hide them away in its lair, allowing the beast to feed whenever it wants. The Wendigo is more intelligent than many humans, and thus understands the value of storing and saving its food. However, it will only resort to this when food is scarce and it becomes desperate. Since the Wendigo constantly hungers for human flesh, it wreaks destruction in its pursuit of its chosen prey. It crashes through the forests, all the while uprooting trees, causing game animals to stampede, and causing whirlwinds. The monster is often thought to be the cause of ice storms, tornadoes, and violent winds. All of these weather-related phenomena are believed to signal the Wendigo’s presence. When the Wendigo hunts, it stalks the victim for long periods. The chosen victim only has a dreadful feeling of being followed. However, the Wendigo has a sadistic streak. It prefers to terrify its victims before moving in for the kill. When it has had enough of stalking the victim, it lets out a growl or a shriek, which resonates through the forest and terrifies the beast’s prey. They panic, firing weapons haphazardly into the brush as the dense forest closes in on them. Eventually, the intended victim succumbs to insanity, running wildly into the forest with abandon. In such a state, they are easy prey for the Wendigo. The Wendigo has been known to enter cabins and other dwelling, unlocking them from the outside and slaughtering the inhabitants, then proceeding to convert the cabin into its own lair. The Wendigo tends to hibernate for long periods, ranging in length from a few months to years at a time. Once they awaken, they go into a feeding frenzy, and after having eaten enough humans, it retreats to its lair and falls back into hibernation once again. Among the Wendigo’s host of supernatural abilities, the Wendigo Fever is perhaps the most feared. It is a terrible curse, overtaking the mind and body of the unfortunate victim. The first symptom of the curse is a strange scent, detectable only to the intended victim. After absorbing this disturbing odor, the victim experiences a long night of weeping and horrifying nightmares. Upon awakening, the victim experiences a burning pain in the legs and feet, which becomes so intense that the victim runs into the forest, shrieking like a maniac, and discarding clothing and shoes all the while. Most of the curse’s victims never return, although those who do return are irrevocably insane from their experiences of the curse and the Wendigo itself. It is thought that most of the curse’s victims are devoured by the Wendigo. The Wendigo, although a dire threat to mankind, shares a close kinship with the forest’s wildlife, mainly predatory animals (such as the wolf, bear, raven, or eagle). The beast willingly shares its kills with these companions, and these animals have been known to travel with the Wendigo. Intelligence In the transformation from man to Wendigo, the victims mind is degraded due to the immense pain and stress. Despite this, Wendigos are still very intelligent, moreso than most humans. They set traps and plan ahead, being cunning, and sometimes kill in revenge. Wiktor demonstrated very humanlike speech, and John Olar spoke in crude, stuttery sentances. John also displayed a cruel, crude and rather primal personality as a Wendigo. Weaknessess Despite the beast’s immeasurable amount of power, there are ways to protect oneself from the Wendigo. If one is hunting this creature, a fire must be kept burning at all times. This will deter the Wendigo from attacking, but only for so long. If burned, the wounds will quickly heal and will only make the beast angry. Any means of mystical protection should be employed (amulets, protective spells, fetishes, and charms), as these things hold power over the Wendigo. Headphones or earplugs must be used to block out the beast’s maddening shrieks. However, one’s surest defense and greatest chance of survival during the Wendigo’s attack is a firearm loaded with silver bullets, and a silvered blade (such as a sword or a knife). The Wendigo cannot be hurt or killed by conventional methods or weapons, including blades or firearms. However, silver is lethal to the Wendigo. Silver bullets or a pure silver blade (or silvered steel) can cause the Wendigo great pain and can even kill the beast. The Wendigo’s body must then be dismembered with a silver-plated axe, and each piece of the body must be salted and burned to ashes (which must then be scattered to the four winds), or each piece must be hidden in some remote, inaccessible location (i.e. the bottom of a lake, a chasm, the sea floor, or a well). Failure to follow these procedures exactly will inevitably result in the Wendigo’s resurrection, followed by its bloody vengeance. It will hunt down its killer, relishing and anticipating the taste of the hunter’s blood in every single moment. Rest assured, the death that follows will be both slow and painful. The Wendigo will take great pleasure in every single bit of agony it inflicts on its killer before finishing the job and devouring the remains. History Early history The birth of a Wendigo is incredibly gruesome. Often, hunting parties have been known to go off for days. Sometimes they would be trapped with little or no access to food. As the party gradually starved to death, they would begin to eat each other. Exactly how and when the first Wendigo came to be is lost to history and legend. But ever since that time, the Wendigo has haunted the Great Lakes woodland and the cold forests of Canada for hundreds of years. Among all creatures in Native American legend, the Wendigo is the most feared and powerful. The Wendigo was once a man that broke a tribal taboo and ate human flesh. A malignant spirit possesses the cannibal, and the Wendigo is born. How does one become a Wendigo? There are numerous ways among the Native American people, but the most common method is for a man to willingly engage in cannibalism. Hunters, campers, and hikers (not necessarily Native Americans) most often travel with a companion, someone with whom they are good friends and are able to trust. Although a rarity, when these people become hopelessly lost and eventually run out of supplies, they inevitably turn on each other. Morality has no part of nature’s law. In the end, only the strongest live and kills the other. The victor then feasts on the flesh of the corpse. The spirit forcibly possesses the cannibal’s body, forcing the human soul out. The moment the cannibal is touched by supernatural forces, he is overcome by extreme nausea and pain. He starts vomiting uncontrollably, for hours at a time. Eventually, the cannibal loses enormous quantities of blood, and inevitably dies. However, the body undergoes a terrifying transformation. The body grows in strength and height, growing a thick coat of white fur. The human’s strength and weight increases greatly, gaining supernatural powers in the process. The head takes on the features of a predatory beast, including the growth of prominent fangs and sharp teeth. The fingernails and toenails grow into sharpened talons, completing the transformation. The cannibal is then resurrected by the evil spirit, no longer a man, but a bloodlusting beast known as the Wendigo. At some point, centuries ago, a man became a Wendigo, and was later nicknamed Wiktor. Because of cannibalism becoming rare even in tribal Canada, there was a time when Wiktor was the only Wendigo on earth. 1998 expedition : Main article: Wiktor In 1998, though, a group of people consisting of Victor Price, Andrew Roxton, and their guide Rafael travelled into the wild forests of Canada looking for a missing John Olar. They find a violently dismembered body, and Rafael is brutally killed when he runs away. They soon encounter Wiktor, and evade it long enough to find John at a tribal camp. They steal him and escape in canoes, letting Wiktor slaughter the tribalists. When they land on the other side of the lake, John is unconscious. They set up camp, but are later attacked by Wiktor during a powerful storm. It is crushed by a tree, rendering it weakened, and Victor attacks it with a log, breaking its arm. In return, it slashes his arm, but Andrew stabs it in the stomach with a silver dagger. This does not kills it, but severely weakens it, giving Andrew the time to stab in the heart with the dagger. They then set fire to the body. Weeks later, they manage to escape the forest after several scuffles with a delerious, sometimes conscious John. They are constantly plagued by storms during their stay in the forest. When they arrive back in England, they stop at the train station for a moment. Andrew explains that if a Wendigo is not killed properly, it will resurrect and have bloody vengeance. At this point, Wiktor reappears, but is hit by a train. John Olar : Main article: John Olar Soon after returning from the original expedition, John Olar began to suffer from symptoms of a transformation into a Wendigo; he became delerious and ravenous, his nails and teeth began to grow, and his skin paled and became cold. Weeks, or even months later, after admitting that he ate a man and killed Rafael when lost in the Canadian wilderness, he fully transforms and kills Amber Heart, his fiance. After a two-day search, with arguments from Victor, who believed John could be cured, they track him down to a semi-underground lair. He wears Amber's skin over his face, and crudely speaks to Andrew Roxton, who is alone with him, almost taking out his eyeballs and skinning his face. Andrew, much to Victors horror, stabs John in the heart with a nearby silver letter-opener, killing him. His body was later burned. Hunted After this event, Victor resolved to wipe all Wendigos off the face of the planet, blaming them for Johns death. He kills one Wendigo in the woods. Known Wendigos *Wiktor (deceased) *John Olar (deceased) *Unnamed Wendigo (deceased) Appearances *1.01 Pilot *1.08 Wendigo Behind the scenes The Wendigos in Bad Moon took inspiration from the Wendigo in the second The Monstrumologist book, as did the storyline of the pilot episode (and the finale episode), and John Olar's story. Category:Creatures Category:Spirits Category:American creatures Category:English creatures Category:Antagonists Category:Characters in Pilot Category:Characters in Wendigo Category:Wendigos